Journalists attacked in Mumbai: Accused sent to judicial custody

The two accused who were arrested late on Saturday by the local crime branch in Thane rural in connection with journalist Raghvendra Dubey’s murder, were produced in court on Sunday and remanded in police custody till July 24.

The two accused who were arrested late on Saturday by the local crime branch in Thane rural in connection with journalist Raghvendra Dubey’s murder, were produced in court on Sunday and remanded in police custody till July 24.

Slain journalist Raghavendra Dubey. (HT photo)

The arrested accused, Avinash Mishra and Samadhan alias Baba Saheb Mali, frequently visited the Love Bird Orchestra bar in Mira Road and became friends with the bar owner, Mahesh Shetty.

Mishra lives in Kurar village of Malad (East) and used to work with a private firm, while Mali is unemployed. After killing Dubey, the two fled. The police caught Mishra and Mali from Mumbai’s western suburbs.

“We are questioning Mishra and Mali to find out why they got involved in Dubey’s murder. We are questioning to find out if Shetty had offered the two money,” an officer said.

Earlier, Shetty and Bhavesh Monani, an employee of Love Bird bar, were arrested a few hours after Dubey was murdered. Both are in police custody till July 24. A police source said Shetty used to run Gandharv Bar at Mira Road, a few years ago. An assault case was registered against him at Mira Road police station a few months ago, the officer said.

Dubey, who ran a weekly newspaper in the Mira-Bhayander area, was killed following a tiff between journalists and employees of the White House bar in the area, after a police raid.

Crime branch sources said the four men were drunk and had killed Dubey because he regularly filed complaints with the police against bars in the area.

In fact, just hours before he was murdered, Dubey was at the Mira Road police station, arguing with the police after complaining to them about an attack on two other journalists, Santosh Mishra and Shashi Sharma, who were covering the raid on the White House bar early on Friday.